


Servent of the Stars

by BluePlanetTrash



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Disrespectful Allura, Gen, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Injured Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Langst, Servant Lance (Voltron), Team Bonding, Team as Family, supportive team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 23:52:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14248521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePlanetTrash/pseuds/BluePlanetTrash
Summary: hey! so i saw a prompt 6 million years ago an no one wrote it and now i'm like sad but was where lance is an altean however he wasn't allura's brother he was her servant. so when blue claims him she doesn't treat him like a paladin rather as a servant. like he cleans after her, she doesn't fully respect him like everyone else etc. but she doesn't realize she's doing it until coran yells at her about it. and it's got to be langsty cause what are we? animals?





	1. Chapter 1

“Who are you? Where am I?” Allura demanded, her eyes darting between the four of them.

“A giant yellow lion brought us here, that’s all we know!” Hunk said anxiously, unable to decide whether to approach her or not.

“How do you have the Yellow Lion? What happened to it’s paladin? What are you all doing here? Unless… How long has it been?” She asked rapidly before walking towards Pidge, urgency in her stance. She tapped quickly at the holopad and quickly pulled up the database.

“We don’t know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help,” Shiro suggested.

“I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea,” she said as an afterthought as her eyes scanned the information on the hologram. Hunk turned when he heard a shimmering sound from behind him. The blue screen disappeared leaving a ginger-haired man standing in the pod, with a blink he was screaming at Hunk.

“Enemy combatants!” He yelled in surprised before he stumbled slightly. “Quiznak! You’re lucky I have a case of the old sleep chamber knees. Otherwise, I’d grab your head like this, wrap you up like so - and one, two, three - Sleepytime!” he said with snap looking at Hunk.

“Whoa, you’re good,” he said in awe, reaching forward to help steady Coran slightly. He was about to say something else when the last cyropod finally opened. A slightly dazed boy stepped out, his hair was a shocking white against his dark skin and he had light blue marks over his cheekbones. He blinked slowly, his hand pressed against his forehead before his eyes locked onto Coran and Hunk.

“Coran!” He burst out with relief, stiffly walking over to him. Coran walked out from under Hunk’s hand and met him in the middle to enfold him in his arms.

“Lance my boy!” He said happily, cupping the back of his head to push him into his shoulder with a sniffle.

“It can’t be,” Allura breathed out, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Coran drew away from Lance to join the princess.

“What is it?” He asked with concern.

“We’ve been asleep for 10,000 years,” she answered in shock. Her eyes glazed over as memories began to race through her mind. “Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed. Father is gone, our entire civilization…” she trailed off in grief. Suddenly her eyes turned dangerous.

“Zarkon,” she hissed. Shiro’s eyes widened and he tensed up.

“Zarkon?” He sounded unsure and kind of spooked as he watched Allura.

“He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people,” Allura explained.

“I remember now… I was his prisoner,” he said quietly, his eyes far away as he tried to fight the block in his memories.

“He’s still alive? Impossible!” She argued in disbelief.

“I can’t explain it, but it’s true. He’s searching for a superweapon called Voltron,”

“He’s searching for it because he knows it’s the only thing that can defeat him, and that’s exactly why we must find it before he does,” she said with determination. She immediately got to work, trying to track down the Galra and the lions so they could be reunited with their new paladins.

* * *

“Your Highness, you should eat, it’s been 10,000 years,” Lance tried, stepping forward with a plate of food goo held in his hands.

“Not now Lance, I’m not hungry,” she said offhandedly, not turning away from the display. He sighed but nodded in understanding and stepped back.

“Man, I have eaten since this morning and I’m starving,” Hunk groaned rubbing a hand over his stomach as it growled.

“Yeah, but you’ve thrown up like five times,” Pidge pointed out.

“Hmm, good point,” he muttered.

“Here, it’s not much for taste but it might help you feel better,” Lance offered the plate towards him with a small smile. Hunk beamed at him and gratefully took the plate from him and started digging in.

“I can’t believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago. It must have been an incredible place,” Shiro said with a smile looking around at the Castle’s walls.

“Yes, it was… but now it is gone and we’re the last Alteans alive,” Coran stated. Allura collapsed onto him with a sob.

They watched the two grief-stricken Alteans. Beside him, Hunk could see Lance’s hands clenching into fists and his chin wrinkle up slightly. With a beat of hesitation, he laid his hand on his shoulder. Lance blinked and looked over at him in surprise. Hunk didn’t exactly know what it felt like to lose your entire planet but he imagined that it wouldn’t feel very great. At this point, he needed as much comfort as they could possibly get and he wasn’t getting it from the other Alteans at the moment.

Suddenly Allura let out a gasp and walked over to the cryopod that she was in earlier.

“Maybe we’re not the last after all,” she breathed out in relief. She bent down and lifted the four mice out of the cryopod with a smile.

Suddenly they were surrounded by red lights and the loud alarm was blaring through the bridge. The mice seized up in surprise and leapt from Allura’s hand. They hit the ground running and scurried to Lance to climb up to his shoulder.

“A Galra ship has set it’s tracker on us!” Coran shouted out in dismay.

“How long until they arrive?” Shiro asked, fully stepping into his leadership role.

“At their speed? Oh, well, carry the two… I’d say probably a couple of days,” Coran decided holding up a couple of fingers.

“Good. Let them come! By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon’s empire!” Allura announced determinedly. The paladins looked back at her, their eyes shining with resolve.

“Princess, there are five of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?” Shiro asked.

“Lance while we’re busy here I want you to prep the paladin’s rooms and make sure that they will have everything they need,” Allura turned to face the Altean. Lance nodded and bowed slightly.

“Of course ma’am,” he said softly before turning and leaving the bridge.

After the doors closed behind him, Allura turned to face the small group of humans again. She closed her eyes focusing on bringing up the star map when she snapped them open again the stars appeared around them. They gasped and looked around in amazement.

“King Alfor connected the lions to Allura’s life force. She alone is the key to the Lions’ whereabouts,” Coran explained simply.

“These are coordinates, it looks like the Black and Blue lions are in the same location as the Yellow lion,” Pidge pointed out as her eyes roamed over the stars.

“Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage,” Coran gushed with a little smile. Pidge huffed but turned to look over at Allura again.

“Very observant, that’s because the Black and Blue Lions are both in the Castle,” she explained with a grin.

“To keep the Lions out of Zarkon’s hands, King Alfor attempted to keep the Black Lion locked it in the castle, unfortunately the Blue Paladin was slain before he had a chance to get it away from the Castle, they can only be freed if the other three lions are present,” Coran explained.

“As you have found, the Lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain. The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion,” she flicked her finger and the tiny version of Black floated over to land in front of Shiro, who looked down at it in amazement.

“The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion,” just like before the Green lion floated over to a sparkly-eyed Pidge who gleefully started inspecting the little lion.

“The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own, his heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together,” the hologram of Yellow drifted closer to a slightly nervous Hunk, as she explained his role he looked back at the team questioningly and pointed at himself in confusion.

“The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It’s faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion,” Keith watched as Red drifted closer to him and smiled when Allura announced that he would be piloting her. It wasn’t like there was another person to give it to.

“What about the Blue Lion?” Shiro asked. His gaze travelled over the paladins that they had at their disposal.

“Until we find a worthy paladin, I will be piloting her,” Allura decided. “Once all the lions are united, we will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe,” they gaped at the image in awe, noises of amazement escaping from their mouths.

“Fortunately, luck seems to be on our side for now and I am able to pinpoint the Green and Red Lion’s positions,” she said with a relieved smile. It looked like this whole mission was taking a small turn for the better.

“We don’t have much time until the Galra gets here. Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Hunk, you take Keith and get the red one,” Shiro said, they nodded in understanding.

“!n the meantime, I’ll get this castle’s defences ready. They’ll be sorely needed,” Allura decided.

“I’ll ready a pod and load in the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion,” Coran told them and followed the group out.

* * *

After Lance was finished making sure the new paladin’s rooms were perfect, he wandered back up to the bridge to join the princess and Coran as they oversaw the collecting of the lions. He heard the sound of wormholes closing earlier and prayed that each of the paladins got back safely. Since he didn’t hear any alarms going off, he assumed that they were fine and quickly started making his way back to the bridge. As he got closer he could hear some panicked yelling and rushed to get through the doors.

“Perhaps your father can help,” he heard Coran say as he quickly creaked open the door and slipped inside.

“My father?” Allura asked in confusion. Coran looked over to where Lance was and gave him a nod.

“Lance take Princess Allura to see King Alfor,” he instructed. Lance swallowed and gave him a deep nod and waited for Allura to walk over to him. He held the door open for her and started leading her towards the holodeck.

“Lance, what is this?” She asked as the doors slid open before her and she walked into the dark room.

“I don’t know much about it other than what Coran told me, but the King decided to store his memories, essentially his very being in this computer for you in case you didn’t see him again,” he explained softly. He backed out of the room and shut the doors behind him. It wasn’t something that he was meant to see and he didn’t think the princess would appreciate it if he saw either.

He leaned comfortably up against the wall as he waited for the princess to finish speaking to the king. As he stared at the wall he thought about his last moments before he was shoved into the cryopod by King Alfor himself.

* * *

_It was complete chaos, explosions everywhere, the sounds of screams echoing through the Castles as their people tried to escape with their lives. He remembered the rush of Alteans that ran to the escape pods. He wanted nothing else but to escape with the rest of them but as he looked around he realized that King Alfor, Princess Allura and Coran were nowhere to be seen. He clenched his teeth as he ran back to the bridge, their safety was much more important than his._

_As he rushed through the bridge doors he saw the cryopod close over Coran’s body. King Alfor’s forehead was creased in pain as he smoothed his hand down the pod’s surface._

_“Your majesty, you must get into a cryopod,” Lance stated urgently running forward. Alfor startled slightly at the voice and looked over at Lance with wide eyes._

_“Lance?” He asked in shock, striding forward to meet him. Lance’s eyes widened in surprise. The king actually knew his name? Sure he was his daughter’s servant but he always thought that he was just another background character to him._

_“Sir, you must get into a pod this could be your only chance, I will activate it for you,” Lance looked up at him pleadingly. Alfor gave him a slight shake of the head and a sad smile._

_“I can’t Lance, this fight is between Zarkon and myself,” he said solemnly placing his hands on Lance’s shoulders._

_“But…” he trailed off unsure._

_“How old are you again Lance?” He asked suddenly. Lance blinked and looked at him in confusion._

_“17 sir,”_

_“I have no doubt that you will do great things in the future Lance,” he said gently as he pushing softly against Lance’s shoulders making him start to back up._

_“The future?” He gasped as he suddenly bumped into something, he glanced to the side and saw the metal of the cyropod surrounding him._

_“You’ll do Altea proud one day Lance,” Alfor smiled before the screen closed on him and everything faded to black._

* * *

It shouldn’t have been him going into cryosleep, it should have been King Alfor and he didn’t think that he would ever be able to forgive himself for that no matter how much he knows it wasn’t his decision. For now, all he could do was make sure that everyone else was taken care of, no matter how small of a job it may be.

But, there was nothing he wouldn’t give in order to fight for his planet. He was just a servant though, and he had never had any formal training except for the few quick lessons from the knights or paladins when they weren’t busy with anything more important.

“Lance,” Allura called as the doors to the holodeck opened again. Immediately he snapped to attention and waited to hear her orders.

“Fetch me my mother’s old armour and meet us in the hangers, it’s time to release the Black and Blue Lions,” she commanded.

“Yes ma’am,” he responded immediately and started towards the far side of the Castle where the royal family’s personal armoury was. He wasn’t sure why she wanted her mother’s old armour, perhaps it was because she knew that she wasn’t the true Blue Paladin. Either way, he thought that it would the perfect way to honour their fallen warriors and people.

He was careful as he started handling the armour, although he knew that it wasn’t going to be hurt by anything that he did to it, it was still worn by the queen and deserved the best care that he could provide.

As hurried towards the hangers, the walls of the Castle shook from the loud roars of the lions as they were reunited. A smile spread across his face as the power resonated through the building. He schooled his features before he crept into the hanger but it quickly dropped when he saw the lions of Voltron standing proudly in front of the Blue and Black Lions. He nearly dropped the pink armour when the Blue Lion’s head turned to look at him and in turn the rest of the group. His eyes dropped to the ground and he started forward intending to bring the princess her armour but his head whipped up when the ground started violently shaking.

He let out a startled yelp when he saw that the Blue Lion was running towards him. She skidded towards him, stopping only for a split second to scoop the stunned servant into her mouth before turning and running back to the group. She stopped beside the Yellow Lion and laid on the ground, opening her mouth slightly so Lance could stagger out.

“Well, I believe that we’ve found our blue paladin,” Coran said proudly.

“Welcome to the team, Lance right?” Shiro said sticking his hand out to shake. Lance startled and took it from underneath the armour nodding dazedly.

Suddenly red lights and the Castle’s alarms started going off again.

“The Galra are here, it’s time for Voltron!” Shiro shouted. “Everyone to your lions!” He commanded. There was a beat of hesitation before Lance turned and ran into Blue’s mouth. He carefully put down the queen’s armour and slid into the pilot’s seat. He let out a sigh as he gripped onto the controls.

He couldn’t explain how right it felt to be there.

* * *

After their battle, they knew that it was important that they start training as soon as possible. Not only did they need to learn to work together as a team, they needed to learn to work together with a whole other species. Someone that they had never met before.

Obviously, they hadn’t all worked together while they were on Earth but Hunk, Pidge and Keith were on the same squad at the Garrison and Shiro was someone that could function with just about any group of people. They also knew that they weren’t the best at teamwork while they were at the Garrison and intended to fix it straight away.

However, the more they attempted to train, the less they saw of their new teammate. They sat on the training deck floor, the mind meld bands on their heads waiting for the Altean to join them.

“Coran, where is Lance?” Shiro asked looking up at the observation deck.

“I’m not sure number one but he could be doing his duties around the Castle, I’ve told him that it’s unnecessary now but I’m afraid Allura hasn’t quite taken the hint yet,” Coran sighed over the loudspeaker. “I’ll go and try to talk to her about it,”

“Thanks, Coran,” Shiro said flatly as he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. “Alright, we’ll leave the mind meld for later, for now, we’ll work on our hand to hand,” the rest of the paladins nodded in agreement and got up from the floor.

All things considered, it was a good practice, they were able to work out the major flaws in their fighting and they were able to build slightly but they knew that without the whole team they wouldn’t be able to call themselves Voltron.

As they started heading towards the door at the end of their practice, the doors slid open and a flustered Lance rushed in, his armour was haphazardly put on and his helmet and bayard were clutched in his hands.

“Oh, Lance,” Shiro said in surprise, not expecting to see the paladin until later that night.

“I am so sorry!” He blurted out, his head bowing. Before he knew it, he was quickly wiping tears away from his face and the rest of the paladins were stuck not knowing what to do.

“Whoa whoa whoa, what’s going on?” Shiro asked gently putting his hand on Lance’s shoulder. His body was trembling.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to do the rest of my duties around the Castle but there’s so much to do and I tried to get here on time but I couldn’t and-and, I’m just so sorry,” he managed to get out.

“Why are you even doing that stuff? You’re a paladin now, shouldn’t that be more important?” Keith asked stiffly.

“Well, yes, of course, but I shouldn’t even be a paladin, I’m most likely just a placeholder until the real paladin is found,” Lance admitted sadly looking down at the ground.

“What? What are you talking about? The Blue Lion chose you for a reason,” Hunk argued softly walking up to the Altean. Lance looked up at him with a watery smile.

“Thank you Hunk but I’m just a servant to the princess, I don’t deserve to be a paladin, I don’t have any idea what I’m doing,” he stated the sad smile never leaving his face.

“And you think that we do? Lance, we don’t even know how far away we are from our home planet and me and Hunk have never even flown before we got our lions, we’re starting off just as clueless as you are,” Pidge said striding forward to send a friendly punch to his arm.

“Really? But you’re all so talented,” he said in awe looking at the four of them.

“C’mon Lance, we’re all going to figure this out together, trust us,” Shiro grinned. Lance glanced at each of them in turn. They all had determined smiles on their faces. He had never wanted to be part of a team as much as he did right then. He smiled widely and gave them a single nod. At that Hunk and Pidge let out a cheer and Hunk stepped forward to sweep him into a hug. He let out a tinkling laugh and wrapped his arms around his neck. The rest of the team huddled around them in a group hug, laughs pouring out of their mouths. They stepped back intending to start another training session now that their spirits were up again but they were interrupted by the sound of the training deck’s doors opening again.

“Lance, you need to take care of preparations for dinner,” Allura said sticking her head into the room. Before he could respond she was gone again. His eyes visibly wilted and he hunched in on himself slightly. He looked up at Shiro as if to ask for permission to leave.

“We’ll figure it out,” Shiro promised him again. Lance sent him a grateful smile and ran out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

They did try to figure it out, they really did but at every step they gained, Allura was there to pull him back again. It was obvious that she wasn’t doing it intentionally and Voltron wasn’t suffering much because of it but they could see the toll that it was taking on the blue paladin.

They had taken to following Lance around the Castle and helping him with his “duties” until either Allura realized what she was doing or someone finally tells her off. Of course at first Lance was reluctant to let them help but when Shiro passed it off as a team-building exercise, he laughed and relented.

Surprisingly, he didn’t do much more than what they would expect to do in their own homes. Like that moment for instance; they were helping him take care of everyone’s dirty laundry and the clothing that was provided in the paladin’s rooms when they settled in. Since they didn’t have any other clothing they opted to wear their matching robes and slippers. Even though Lance had plenty of clothes on the ship he decided to join in and happily put on the silky robe.

“Um, Lance?” Shiro called hesitantly.

Lance looked away from where he and Hunk were sorting and folding the now clean clothes and over to their now flustered leader.

“What the quiznack did you do?” He managed to get out between his laughs. Shiro’s ears turned a bright red as the embarrassment fully sunk in. Somehow while cleaning his vest, he managed to shrink it to barely half of it’s original size.

“You too?” Keith pouted as he walked up beside Shiro, his now tiny black t-shirt held in his hand.

“Wow, you two are definitely related,” Hunk laughed with a teasing grin.

“How did you even do that? The machines were built to wash everything perfectly,” Lance said walking up to the two of them and taking Shiro’s vest to examine it more closely. “Now we’re going to have to get you some more clothes, I mean you could wear Altean clothing but I don’t know how comfortable you’ll be,”

“Nope. No. Not happening, I can make it work,” Keith said hurriedly before walking back to his basket of clothes.

“See, perfect, you can’t even tell the difference,” he said as he swaggered back over.

“Oh my god. Keith. No,” Pidge chuckled as he struck a pose in front of the group. He had put his t-shirt back on but unlike before it was incredibly tight and barely reached the top of his belly button. To add to the effect he pulled his red jacket over it, which thankfully he hadn’t tried to wash yet. The baggy red lounge pants tied everything together perfectly as the group doubled over in laughter.

“I have become the anime,” he declared.

“I think we just found out Sebastian Michaelis’ true form,”

“Who is that?” Lance asked, his head tilted questioningly at her.

“Oh, he’s a character in a manga series from Earth, I can tell you all about it when we’re done if you want,” Pidge offered happily. Lance’s eyes lit up and he nodded his head excitedly in agreement.

“Seriously though, what are we going to do about these?” Shiro asked as he tried unsuccessfully to pull Keith’s shirt over his stomach.

“Why!?” Keith screeched trying to push Shiro away.

“You’re only a toddler!”

“We might be able to find some things at a swap moon, they have things from all over the universe,” Lance suggested ignoring the two arguing paladins. It had been quite awhile since he had been to a swap moon. He may have only gone to one but it had been the most exciting thing that had happened to him until he became a paladin, not to mention the fact that Coran was the one that took him.

“Whoa! That sounds so cool! Do you think that they would have anything from Earth?” Hunk asked leaning forward in excitement. Lance laughed at the eagerness that Hunk was showing.

“I’m not sure, it has been 10,000 years since I stepped foot in one, they might not be anything like I remember them to be,” he admitted with a small smile. He finished folding his last piece of laundry and neatly placed it in the basket.

“I’ll go ask Coran if he could locate one for us, there must be some things that we need for the Castle anyway, at the very least we need ingredients for better food,” Lance said hefting his basket into his arms. He waved over his shoulder before the door slid shut behind him.

There were a few minutes of silence after he left the room before Hunk decided to speak up.

“Do you think that we’re getting anywhere with him?” He asked with concern.

“I mean we were able to form Voltron on the first try with him so I don’t think that it’s really us that he’s concerned with and he likes spending time with us,” Pidge pointed out before sitting on the counter where Lance’s basket once sat.

“Yes, but we still don’t know very much about Lance’s past or anything about him really except for the fact that he was Allura’s servant and that he’s the blue paladin,” Keith added, finally getting away from Shiro.

“Well, we’re just going to have to try to get closer to him and make sure that he knows that he is wanted on the team,” Shiro nodded crossing his arms across his chest. He still couldn’t get that heartbroken face out of his mind. Although they had only known Lance for a few weeks, to remember that he didn’t think that deserved to be a paladin still stung. Even if it took their whole lives they were going to make sure that Lance knew that he wasn’t just a servant.

* * *

Just as Lance thought. This was not what he remembered a swap moon looking like. It was clean and orderly and there weren’t space pirates anywhere that he could see. Thankfully he was able to talk Coran out of the grungy disguises that he wanted them to wear and instead they wore their armour.

“Alright, in two vargas we’ll meet back here, I understand that you’re looking for clothes so I will take care of getting the food,” Coran declared.

“Thanks, Coran, that takes a load off of our shoulders,” Shiro breathed out with a grin.

“Not a problem my boy, now go have fun!” He exclaimed before swiftly turning and walking the opposite direction.

They looked around in confusion before their gaze landed back on Lance. He let out a snort of amusement before heading towards the help desk.

“Wow, you guys are like a bunch of lost yuppers,”

“I don’t know what that means but it’s probably accurate,”

“Trust me, it is,”

“Can I help you?” The worker asked. Lance blinked in surprise for a second. She looked like an Unilu, maybe this mall wasn’t as innocent as he thought before.

“Um, yes please, we’re looking for clothing stores,” he said nervously.

“Okay, just a tick, I’ll circle some on a map for you,” she said, leaning back to grab a map and a marker.

Okay. She wasn’t bartering for information. They were definitely in the clear. He breathed a barely audible sigh of relief and an easy smile worked its way across his face.

“Are you soldiers or something?” She asked as she carefully drew around some shapes.

“Hmm, kind of?”

“Sick,” she said before sliding the map over the counter. “There you go, I left out the ones that I didn’t think would fit any of you,”

“Thank you,” he said with a smile before he paused and put it back on the counter.

“There wouldn’t happen to be an Earth store in here, would there?” He asked.

“Um, Earth?” She echoed in confusion.

“Or Gaea? Or maybe Terra?” Hunk butt in. Her eyes narrowed slightly in thought before she let out a little gasp and took the map back and circled another location.

“This shop is called Terra but no one ever goes in there, I don’t think that they’ve even sold anything before,” the group of humans looked at the map like it was an oasis in the desert.

“Thank you so much!” They blurted out before they grabbed Lance’s wrist and were dragging him towards the store.

“Welcome!” The grey alien greeted as they rushed through the door. They glanced around quickly with wide grins before they started splitting off into different directions.

“Holy fuck, they have Sephora,” Shiro gasped as he walked to one of the shelves. “Keith, they have glitter, I’m buying all of it, I’m literally going to snort it,” he promised waving the small vile of rainbow glitter at him.

“Please don’t fucking snort it,” Keith sighed massaging his forehead.

“Try and fucking stop me,”

“How did you become our leader?” He groaned walking over to join him. Lance watched them in amusement. He didn’t know what Sephora was but it seemed to be like the makeup that he used to use on Altea.

“Is that a Mercury Gameflux II?!” Pidge shouted in excitement, dragging Hunk by the arm to the back wall.

Great. Now he was alone in a store that he had no idea what anything was. He started down the side of the store, eyes darting around looking for anything remotely interesting to him. His head whipped around when Pidge let out another screech and she started waving a book at him.

“It’s Black Butler, the one with that character I was talking about earlier,” she explained quickly before she was back to rifling through the store. He let out an amused huff before continuing on his little search.

He felt warm inside when he thought of the fact that they wanted to teach him about their planet and their interests. They actually wanted to get to know him as a friend rather than someone they had to work with. 

He yelped when something soft slapped him in the face making him stop in surprise. He stumbled back a few steps and looked at the wall. Hanging crooked on a rack was an olive green jacket with a cream coloured hood and orange bands circling the upper sleeves.

Gingerly, he reached up and slipped it off of the hanger to get a better look at it. It certainly wasn’t his usual style but then again he didn’t really have a style since he almost always wore his uniform or armour. He really liked this though and he doubted that he was going to be leaving the store without it.

He didn’t.

While the other paladins left carrying multiple bags with them, Lance had a wide smile on his face as he slipped the jacket on over his armour and dragged his new friend Kaltenecker behind him.

* * *

Thankfully Coran did a fantastic job at getting ingredients and they were going to be stocked for quite a while. With the addition of more food, Lance added kitchen duty to his list of jobs in the Castle and like before the paladins trailed after him curiously.

“What do you want us to do?” Hunk asked eagerly, looking at the spread of ingredients that were laid on the counter.

“Who should I not trust in the kitchen?” He asked first, immediately all eyes went to Shiro who pouted and crossed his arms.

“Why do you two even know?” he huffed looking at Hunk and Pidge.

“Keith,” they shrugged in unison.

“Yay Shiro, you get to be the dishwasher!” Lance said with sarcastic cheer before chucking a dishcloth at him.

“But seriously, I don’t really have any jobs except for cutting right now,” he said pushing a cutting board with a strange looking… something towards each of them.

“What are we even making?” Pidge asked as she carefully started.

“Hmm, well I don’t know the name of it,” he admitted, tapping his chin with his finger. “It was something that the cooks used to make all of the time,”

“We’re making an authentic Altean meal?” Hunk smiled the earlier excitement flooding his body again.

“Yup, I don’t really know how to make anything else after all,” he laughed turning to throw an apron on himself and join them.

“Were you close to everyone on the ship?” Shiro asked, striding back over to join their little circle.

“Well, yes and no I guess,” he shrugged. “Coran found me on the streets when I was about 11 or 12 and was kind enough to get me a job here as a servant, don’t get me wrong Altea was beautiful and it was easy to live there but it was rough for an orphaned child with no one to turn to,”

* * *

_No matter how many times he lived through blaze storms, he would never be able to get over the fear. He yelped and pushed himself against the wall behind him as a chunk of rock speared the ground beside his foot. The burning heat coming off of it quickly turned his skin red and he quickly moved it. He kept his eyes trained on the sky even as tears started rolling down his cheeks and he could barely keep his knees from buckling in fear. The only way to keep his head on his shoulders was to track the falling debris and keep dodging._

_He was so occupied keeping his head to the sky that he didn’t notice another person until they were standing over him. He held a shield over the two of them and looked down at Lance with an expression of pity._

_“Hi there,” he said softly. Lance blinked only barely realizing that he was safe for the time being before his knees finally gave out and he fell to the ground. The man let out a little sound of shock before he was kneeling beside him._

_“Are you alright?” He asked with concern, his eyes searching over him for any sort of injury. Lance couldn’t get past the relieved knot in his throat and only nodded in response as he started wiping away his tears._

_“Why are you out here?” He asked laying his hand on Lance’s shoulder._

_“I have nowhere else to go,” he whispered, clenching his hands in the fabric of his pants. He felt a shudder go through the man’s hand before he was gently tipping his head up to finally see his rescuer._

_“Do you know who I am?” He asked. Lance squinted his eyes slightly. For some reason, he did look familiar but he wasn’t sure why. He was positive that he would remember meeting this man. Then it came to him. This man was always standing with the royal family._

_He let out a gasp and struggled to bow or show some sort of respect to the man. Shockingly, the man let out a laugh and ruffled his dirty hair._

_“No need for that, I’m no royal,”_

_“But you’re so important and I-I’m just Lance,” he said self-consciously reaching up to rub a piece of his hair between his fingers._

_“And I’m just Coran, it’s nice to meet you my boy!” He cheered holding out his hand to the small boy. Lance looked up at him with wide eyes and put his trembling one in Coran’s._

_“Now then, you said that you had nowhere to go?” He asked looking around the alleyway that Lance was sitting in. Lance gulped and nodded his head slightly._

_“Well that won’t do, everybody needs a home, how would you feel about living in the Castle?” Lance’s mouth dropped open in shock. He had never even gotten close enough to see the shape of the Castle let alone been inside of it. He couldn’t help but feel like all of this was just a cruel dream and he was going to wake up cold and alone again._

_“Really?” He croaked out in disbelief. Again Coran sent him a comforting smile and nodded his head._

_“Now it won’t be easy work and the staff won’t tolerate any slackers, but I can give you a chance if you promise to do your best,” he said sternly. Lance frantically nodded his head in agreement and clutched onto Coran’s arm. He would give anything to just have a roof over his head for once._

_“I can do it!” He promised, determined eyes staring into Coran’s._

_“Then I look forward to working with you,” he said standing up and holding his hand out to the boy._

* * *

_After he was settled in the Castle he was sent to the kitchens. It was not what he expected. He soon realized that he wasn’t going to do very well there. He was by far the smallest person there and was immediately intimidated by the loud noise and rush that everyone was in. He tried as hard as he could to succeed, he listened to everything that any of the cooks told him, he was there as soon as he was called, he did anything that was asked of him._

_But it wasn’t enough._

_No matter what he did. He would mix up the ingredients by mistake and they would have to start all over because of him. The first time it happened they chalked it up to nervousness and let him go with a tight smile and reassurance, probably because of the nervous tears that were welling up in his eyes. By the fourth time it happened, they started yelling instead._

_He couldn’t help that he was constantly underfoot, he was the smallest person in that room. He didn’t mean to get in the way, he just wanted to do his job and earn his keep. If it hurt a bit when they shoved him out of the way, he didn’t say anything._

_He never cursed himself more than when he made a stupid mistake. He already knew that he was clumsy but when he was suddenly given some sort of responsibly it got out of control. He would drop bowls of ingredients, glasses, knives, everything. It was when he managed to drop completed dishes that really scared him. He would instantly burst into panicked tears and attempt to clean it up until another member of the staff pushed him away and cleaned it themselves with an angry grumble._

_He knew that he wasn’t doing very well but he was doing his best just like Coran said. So when he walked into the kitchen one morning and his apron was ripped off he didn’t know what to do. A shove sent him to the ground outside the doors and he looked up at the looming head chief._

_“We don’t need you here, you’re going to the gardens,” he said bluntly before the door shut on him._

_Of course, that wasn’t particularly harsh or anything but for someone like him, who had tried his hardest, it hurt. He kept his promise but he still wasn’t good enough for them. He had no reason to complain though, he still had another chance._

* * *

_Just like the kitchen, he wasn’t welcome to work in the gardens after another month. He wasn’t strong enough and he wasn’t quick enough. They didn’t give him nearly as long as the kitchen staff and was thrown to a new section within the next three weeks._

_It didn’t last._

_He wasn’t good enough to work in the Castle. He wasn’t good enough to work anywhere. He had done his best but it just wasn’t enough. He couldn’t earn his keep and it was time for him to leave. He understood that as he was dragged back to his room with the orders to take his belongings and leave._

_He didn’t yell._

_He didn’t argue._

_He understood why._

_And he cried._

_He packed up his belongings shakily and headed out of the door. Miserable hiccups escaped his throat as he tried to wipe away his tears. He didn’t want to bother anyone else with his own problems, he had already done that enough. Coran was wrong to put his faith in him, he was wrong to think that he could be anything than just a street rat._

_He tried to put on a brave face when he saw the entrance to the Castle getting closer and closer but his stomach only dropped lower. By the time he reached the threshold, he was almost collapsing in heartache. He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to have to struggle to survive anymore. It hurt too much._

_With a shaking sob, he started walking away, clutching his small bag to his chest. He tried to think of somewhere that he go curl up that night. They were approaching the colder months of the year and Lance was excited to be able to spend them in the warmth of the Castle, but obviously, things weren’t going to work out that way._

_“Lance?” A voice called. Hesitantly he looked up and let out a little gasp. He clamoured to drop into a bow as the two men came forward._

_Coran and King Alfor._

_“Lance, what are you doing out here? Don’t you have duties? Wait, are you crying?” Coran shot out at lightspeed. He kneeled in front of the boy concern flooding his face. Lance quickly looked away, he couldn’t stand to look at the man that he let down._

_“Lance, please talk to me,” he pleaded, tilting Lance’s head up._

_“I’m sorry Coran,” was all he said._

_“Whatever for? And why are you out here?” He asked his eyes searching Lance’s face._

_“I wasn’t good enough, I kept messing up so I have to go, I’m sorry that you wasted your time on me,” he breathed out quickly moving his gaze back to the ground. Coran’s hand tightened slightly where it was resting on Lance’s shoulder._

_“Lance was it?” Alfor asked, kneeling beside Coran. Lance looked at him with wide eyes and nodded slowly._

_“Lance, how old are you?”_

_“I’m 11,” he answered quietly._

_“Well then, I might have the perfect job for you,”_

* * *

“Then he introduced me to Allura and the rest is basically history,” Lance smiled.

“That honestly sounds more like a movie plot than real life,” Pidge commented with wide eyes. Lance chuckled and nodded his head in agreement.

“Alfor sounds like he was a great guy too,” Hunk added.

“Yes he was, at least in my experience, I mean he saved my life more than once,” Lance shook his head slightly. Even though it’s been ten millennia, he still felt disbelief at the king’s actions. He didn’t have to show Lance any kindness but he did anyway.

“More than once?” Shiro asked propping his chin upon his hand.

“Yes, he was the one that put me into the cryopod,” all at once the guilt that he felt after waking up came rushing back. “It should have been him in there not me,”

“What do you mean?”

“I went back while everyone was evacuating because the king, princess, and Coran were all missing and when I got there I told him that I would put him into cryosleep for him but then he put me in one instead, if I had have resisted a little bit more maybe he would be the one here instead of me,” he explained looking down at the counter. He sighed when a hand laid itself on his shoulder.

“Lance, Alfor obviously saw something in you,” Shiro reasoned with a small smile. Lance huffed out a laugh and shook his head slightly in denial.

“Yeah! I mean you ran back during an evacuation just to try and save their lives,” Hunk added with a wide grin.

“Their safety was much more important than mine,” Lance argued futilely.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit Lance, no one else in that ship tried to go back for them beside you and you didn’t even know if they were actually up there,” Pidge countered with a pointed look. “You are so much more important than you think you are, we all see it,”

“Thank you,” he breathed out, eyes gazing at each of them in amazement. For the first time in his life, he could feel the heavy guilt lifting itself off of his shoulders.

“That’s what friends are for,” Keith said simply.

Lance’s mouth lifted up in a wobbling smile. Ten millennia ago, the only friends he had were Coran and somewhat Allura. Now he had four new people that cared about him. He knew that there was going to be a long learning curve ahead of them. He had to find a new place for himself in the Castle as a paladin and not a servant. It would be difficult for him to break out of his old habits but it wasn’t himself that he was worried about.

It was Allura.


	3. Chapter 3

Getting Allura to admit to her faults was proving to be more problematic than they thought. The fact that Lance wasn’t doing anything about it either was just adding to everyone else’s frustrations.

“Why don’t you tell her?” They would ask him after she gave him another pointless task that would cut into their training time.

“Aside from the fact that I can’t seem to bring up the courage, I want her to figure it out herself,” Lance would always repeat back to them, although his voice betrayed how upset he was getting each time they asked. Besides the fact that she had taken to ordering him around like a dog instead of a proper paladin, she didn’t give me nearly as much respect as she did the rest of the paladins.

First of all was the fact that she didn’t even introduce him as a paladin when they were talking to planet’s officials. She would tell them each of the paladin’s names and positions in Voltron, then Coran and last Lance as if he was some sort of an afterthought. She wouldn’t even tell them that he was a paladin either, just that his name was Lance.

After the first few times it happened, they weren’t sure what to do but during one visit after Allura introduced herself, Shiro jumped in and took over instead.

“I’m the Black Paladin and leader of Voltron, my name is Shiro,” he said quickly, drawing all of the attention to himself instead of Allura. She narrowed her eyes at him in dangerous confusion.

“These are the paladins of Voltron; Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance,” he introduced, gesturing at them each in turn. When he said Lance’s name, the Altean turned to him with wide watering eyes and a grateful smile.

“This is our advisor and Castle mechanic, Coran,” he said as Coran proudly twirled his moustache.

“It is a pleasure to meet you paladins, Coran and Princess Allura,” the aliens bowed graciously before leading them further into the planet.

At that moment, Shiro only felt glad that he interrupted Allura if only to get Lance to smile like that. All he had done was call him by his proper title and he looked at him like he hung the moon and stars for him.

All through their visit, Allura looked at him like she was either trying to figure him out or that he had somehow been replaced by a Galra. Shiro did his best to ignore her and focus on the mission, he could deal with her later as long as everything went smoothly.

Thanks to their developing diplomacy skills, they were able to lift off of that planet by that night. As soon as they were back on the ship they were dismissed and everyone was heading to bed. Except for Shiro apparently.

“Shiro I need to talk to you,” Allura said sternly as everyone headed for the doors. Shiro let out a mental groan and sent a reassuring look towards Lance when he looked back at him with worried eyes. He turned back to see the princess standing tensely with her arms crossed and foot tapping angrily.

“What is it, princess?” Allura’s foot paused on the ground as she looked at him incredulously.

“What is it? The disrespect you’ve shown me today was unacceptable Shiro,” she snarled. Shiro’s eyebrows lowered in anger at the accusation. She could see the disrespect that was forced upon her but couldn’t see what she was doing to Lance like it was nothing?

“I was simply trying to fix your errors, you have a tendency to forget certain members of the team,” he said calmly crossing his arms defensively. She blinked in surprise but it melted away after a moment.

“Are you talking about Lance?” She asked with a roll of her eyes. Shiro’s jaw clenched but he took a deep breath and nodded his head.

“Yes, he is just as important as any other person on our team and the way you just gloss over that is unacceptable,” he spoke steadily trying not to lose his calm. Allura let out a loud sigh and massaged her forehead in supposed irritation.

“You must understand that Lance was my servant before anything else and it is going to take a little bit more time to treat him as anything different,” she said in exasperation.

“Allura, first of all, it’s been months since Lance became a paladin you should be used to it already. Second of all. Princess. Not all of grew up in a Castle being waited on hand and foot so no I don’t understand but I do understand that people should be given what they deserve and Lance doesn’t deserve such treatment from you,” he said coldly glaring at her.

“How dare you,” she started with a gasp before Shiro turned his back on her.

“I’m not going to argue about this with you Allura,” he said with cold eyes. “Just try to imagine how Lance feels knowing that his oldest friend won’t give him common decency,”

He walked out of the bridge, Allura sputtering behind him. He went to bed that night and slept like a baby.

* * *

It seemed that Shiro’s little rant to Allura worked. At least a little anyway, she let Shiro introduce the team from then on. However, it still didn’t stop her from belittling Lance in other ways.

The other paladins were fascinated by Lance’s tactical mind when he put it to use. In the beginning, he was afraid to show what he could figure out because he was unsure whether his plans actually made sense or not but when he quietly suggested a plan once during a training session he quickly gained the confidence to speak up during planning meetings.

Unfortunately, Allura didn’t see it the same way.

Whenever he tried to suggest an alternative way or make a general comment about the plans, she would either ignore him completely or talk over him as if whatever he was saying wasn’t nearly as important as her comments. Understandably, by the end of the meeting, the rest of the paladins were a great deal pissed off. She sent them off with a smile and wave, the thought that the meeting was a success at the front of her mind.

Shiro was ten kinds of angry and only gave the other paladins a wave before he was stomping off to the training room, presumably to put his irritation to good use.

“Don’t let Allura walk all over you like that man,” Hunk tried, laying his hand on Lance’s shoulder as they walked away. Lance sighed but nodded slightly.

“It’s just hard to do that man, it’s how I’ve lived my life for years before this, I can’t just stand up to her like that,” he mumbled before looking up and giving them a half smile. “Don’t worry about me though, I’m fine, I’m going to go to bed now, I’ll see you guys in the morning,” he said before rushing off to his rooms.

The three of them looked at each other knowingly.

“We have to do something about this,” Keith decided. Pidge and Hunk nodded in agreement, determination shining in their eyes.

* * *

They decided that they couldn’t just go up to Allura and tell her that she was being a piece of shit even though they really wanted to. Instead, they decided to give her a taste of her own medicine.

They had the next day off since they had been on and off planning and doing raids and rescue missions for the last few weeks. Before they went to bed that night, they told Shiro what they were doing and instead of joining in he decided to remain scarce for the day and catch up on sleep.

They couldn’t help but be proud of themselves for not forgetting themselves the entire next day. Whenever Allura tried to talk to them they did exactly what she always did. Ignore or talk over her.

It was obvious that halfway through the day that she was pissed off, and for good reason too. When it finally came for her anger to start coming out, she couldn’t even get a word out to them. It was well into the evening before she huffed and walked away to some other part of the Castle. They counted it as a success.

After a few hours, they went searching for her and found her sitting on the floor, legs tucked to her chest and looking at the star map. She glanced over her shoulder at them before scowling and turning her attention back in front of her.

“Finally going to talk to me?” She asked bitterly. Keith pulled his lip back in a snarl.

“We can leave instead,” he spat. Her shoulders jumped in surprise and she looked back at them with wide eyes but ended up shaking her head in response. They took it as a sign to walk forward.

“Why did you do that?” She asked laying her head on her arms. They looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“Are you serious?” Pidge asked. Allura looked at her in confusion and nodded her head.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked.

“Because sometimes we think that you do this stuff on purpose,” Hunk said with a sigh.

“Do you seriously not see what you’re doing to Lance?” Keith asked with a frown. Allura’s confused looked changed into one of slight annoyance.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said simply.

“You never listen to him, you always talk over him or ignore him when we’re planning,” Pidge listed off on her fingers. She blinked at Pidge looking shocked at the revelation.

“Look Allura I don’t think that you mean to do it but look at yourself, you were upset after only one day or this, Lance has been doing this for years and not complained once,” Hunk stated. “We just want you to think about that,”

They stared at each other for a short moment before they turned and left the room, leaving Allura to look at the stars around her.

She tightened her arms around her knees as she thought about the last few days. The paladins had turned their back on her, all except for Lance. Who she was quickly realizing that was being treated all wrong by her.

Now she just had to make it up to him.


	4. Chapter 4

She wanted to talk to Lance the next day and apologize for her behaviour. She stayed up the whole night thinking about what the others told her and how she had been treating the boy.

By the time that morning rolled around on the ship, she was pretty confident about what she wanted to say to him. Unfortunately, they were contacted by a planet before she could pull him aside. With a regretful glance at the boy, she opened a wormhole and they landed on the plant.

Aside from the fact that it disrupted her plans to talk to Lance, their role on the planet was a tame one. They wanted to form an alliance with the team since they had been put under increasing pressure from the Galra and were worried about their safety.

To their surprise, they learned that there were a number of Galra sympathizers that lived on the planet. They assured the team that their security would be their first priority but they weren’t sure who these sympathizers were in the first place. They assured them that they would try to be on guard while they were there and were able to sort out an alliance by the end of the afternoon.

To everyone’s delight, the planet decided to throw a celebration for them that night and asked if they would be their guests of honour for the night. They happily agreed, they still hadn’t gotten as much rest time as they wanted yesterday and thought that a dinner would be a nice change. After the dinner, they were lead to a ballroom where a good portion of the planet’s people were waiting to greet and thank them.

All in all, Lance was really enjoying the party. He was getting along with a lot of the aliens, not to mention that Allura was being far more respectable than any other time. He felt like he was floating on air as he walked through the ballroom.

He looked around, spotting his teammates all around the room. Hunk and Pidge were animatedly talking to one of the planet’s engineers and Shiro and Keith were on the other side of the room talking with the king’s advisor and one of the guards. It was only him that was on his own since Allura and Coran were talking to the king himself. He started towards them, intent on joining in on the conversation and maybe try to talk to Allura as well.

As he got closer his eyes started to drift to the side, at the guard that was standing on the right side of the king, who Allura had her back to. He wasn’t sure what it was but he kept finding his eyes leading back to the man. His eyes were darting around the room but always went back to Allura. He saw him start to slide his hand down to his waist, his eyes now locked on Allura. Immediately, Lance started sprinting towards them, he wasn’t sure what he had but he didn’t think it was anything good.

“ALLURA!” He screamed in warning as he finally saw what he pulled out.

A gun.

She whipped her head over to look at him as the man brought the gun up behind her. He clenched his teeth and swept out of the way with a swing of his arm. He let out a startled gasp as pain tore through his stomach.

“LANCE!” Allura shrieked shaking out of her shock and running towards him. Her arms stretched out to him as he started falling backwards. The muffled sounds of the paladins racing over to them reached her ears as she collapsed beside Lance. She briefly looked up at them, poison in her eyes as she hissed out;

“Get him,”

They gave her a single nod before they were racing after the alien.

Like a pride of lions on the hunt.

She turned her attention back to Lance and carefully pushed down on his wound. He gave a long drawn out groan as his eyes fluttered open and peered up at her.

“Allura?” He croaked out. Allura’s chin wrinkled as she tried to give him a reassuring smile.

“Yes Lance I’m here,” she said looking at him with teary eyes. He breathed in a watery gasp as tears started leaking down the sides of his face.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t enough Allura, I’m sorry that I wasn’t a good enough soldier for you or a good enough servant, I wasn’t even a good enough friend,” he lamented, shaking his head slightly against the floor.

“Lance. Lance, no,” she argued shaking her head at him. “You were always good enough, for everything, it was me who wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t a good leader, I wasn’t a good friend to you,”

“I promise you that things will be better from now on,” she said with a desperate smile. Lance’s eyes widen in surprise and a small smile spread across his face. She turned to look over her shoulder at the king that was quietly ordering guards and personnel from the room.

“Princess, your advisor has gone with the medical staff to prepare a cryopod and bring a gurney for the blue paladin,” he said quickly. Allura gave him a nod before turning back to Lance. His face was rapidly losing colour and his eyes were drooping more and more closed. His body shook when a series of violent coughs came out of his throat. Allura tried to wipe away the blood that started staining the corner of his lips but it ended up smeared over his chin instead.

“Did you hear that Lance? They’re going to fix you up just fine, it will be just like the cryopods at home,” she said, trying to catch his gaze. His eyes drifted over to catch her’s and she was reminded of the hopeless eyes of the boy she met as a child.

“It’s okay Lance, you can fight it,” she tried with determined eyes. Although, the river of tears that were rolling down her cheeks took away from the effect. After a few blinks from him, they brightened slightly and he gave her a slightly bloodied smile.

“It’s okay, Allura,” he rasped, reaching up to brush his fingers lightly through her hair. “It’ll all be okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore,”

“What? We have to get you to a pod now,” she declared, ready to pick him up and run to the med bay herself if she had to. Lance’s hand clamped down on her arm, stilling her movement and she looked down at him again in surprise.

“I’m okay Allura, if I die, I’m okay with it,” he said softly. Allura looked at him in desperation, her eyebrows and chin wrinkled up with the urge not to sob.

“How can you be okay with that?” She demanded but Lance only let out a weak chuckle.

“I’ve been saved so many times in this life, I’ve been given so many chances to make up for the mistakes that I made. With every decision that I made I was given the opportunity to change my outcome. For the first time in my life, I made the right choice to push you to the side,”  he said with a content smile. Allura eyes widened in shock. Her world felt like it was crumbling underneath her at the admission.

“Life was not kind to me in the beginning but fate was my saviour. If I had not been in that alley that day, Coran would have never found me. If I had not left at the time I did, I would have never gotten to meet you. If I had not gone back up to the bridge, the king would not have saved me,” he listed off.

“We’ll just have to see what fate has in store for me this time,”

She screamed in fear as Lance’s head lolled to the side, his eyes still slightly open and staring at the far wall. A few moments later, the medical personal burst in through the doors with the gurney. Coran pried Allura away from the boy as they took him back out of the doors and towards the med bay.

“You need to get cleaned up Princess, you don’t want the rest of them to see you like that,” he tried to reason, although the worry for Lance was enveloping him as well. “You have to stay strong for the rest of the paladins,” she slumped slightly in his arms as they started towards the palace’s doors.

“I don’t want to stay strong,” she admitted as they got out of the doors. Coran looked at her in surprise and at that moment, only saw the scared little girl that would cry whenever her mother or father left her alone.

“Think of what Lance would want then,” he tried instead. “He would want you to be able to take hold of the situation no matter what you were feeling,”

At that, her head picked up again. She tried to square her shoulders in some semblance of strength but she could feel her resolve slowly cracking away with every step that she took. As they went to the left of the Castle, the shouts of the paladins and the shots from Hunk’s gun could be heard even though she knew that they were miles away from them.

Hopefully, they would bring him back alive. He needed to pay.

* * *

After hours of waiting in the cryopod room, staring at Lance’s body as it tried to stitch itself back together; the team came back.

“He’s in custody and awaiting trial for his actions,” Pidge informed the two of them while the rest of them headed to the pod to check on their friend.

“How long will it be until Lance gets out?” Keith asked, looking over at the two Alteans. Allura sent them a reassuring smile, although the puffy red eyes didn’t help.

“Fortunately, these pods are several millennia more advanced than the cryopods on the ship and he should be out any time now,” she answered. At that, the paladins all smiled at each other and ran into a group hug together.

As if waiting for everyone to be together again, the screen of the cryopod shimmered and Lance staggered out with bleary eyes. Without barely moving, he was suddenly in the middle of the group hug even though he was still confused and glancing around at them in surprise.

“Are you okay Lance?” Shiro asked with concern. Lance looked at him with narrow eyes but nodded his head. They backed up for a moment until he fully woke up before approaching him again.

“Do you remember what happened?” Allura asked. Lance lost himself in thought for a moment before he let out a gasp and rushed over to Allura.

“Are you okay? You weren’t hurt anywhere right?” He asked frantically, looking over her for any injuries. Her mouth dropped in shock before she brought her hand up and flicked him on the forehead.

“Me? Worry about yourself first Lance,” she admonished. Lance looked at her in surprise but nodded his head in understanding. She huffed but dragged him forward into a tight hug. There was only a moment’s hesitation before Lance wrapped his arms around her in return.

“I was so worried Lance, I don’t know what I would have done if you had left us,” she admitted with a wobbling voice. Lance sighed and laid his head on her shoulder.

“Fate was my saviour,” he reminded her quietly. She responded with a small laugh even as tears rolled down her cheeks again. She sniffed and pulled back to look at him with a smile, which he returned in kind.

They looked over when there was a knock at the door and it was pulled open. It was the king.

“Hello Voltron, he has obviously been named guilty, I was wondering what his punishment will be,” he said looking at the lot of them. They glanced at each other in confusion but ultimately looked over to Allura and Coran for an explanation.

“I’m sorry but we’re not familiar with your law enforcement practices,” Allura said.

“Oh yes, that’s understandable. When someone commits a crime, it is up to the victim to decide the criminal’s punishment if they are found guilty,” he informed them. All their eyes went to Lance who was looking at the ground instead.

“I’m sorry, could you give up a moment?” Shiro asked the king. He graciously nodded his head and left the room, closing the door behind him.

“What do you want to do Lance?” Hunk asked with concern as they crept closer. He shook his head slightly.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure what punishment is justified,” he admitted wringing his hands together.

“Well, he tried to kill a paladin of Voltron, in some circles that would justify death,” Pidge shrugged ignoring the side eyes she was getting from everyone. “Everyone shut up, I know you all were thinking it,”

“Yeah, but you said it,” Keith mumbled ignoring the glare he got from her.

“I’m not worried about that, he tried to hurt Allura,” Lance demurred waving his hands at them. Their eyebrows raised in surprise at the fact and they immediately started protesting at his words. “Look, Allura is far more important to Voltron than me, if it wasn’t for her we wouldn’t even have Voltron,” he tried to defend himself.

“Lance, you’re an actual part of Voltron. Compared to you, I’m just a small part of this team. Don’t you ever think that you aren’t needed as much as someone else because it is not true,” she objected, ignoring the wide-eyed stare she was getting from him.

“Really?” He breathed out in astonishment. She gave him a beaming smile and a nod before she turned to the rest of the team.

“I think it’s about time that we got off of this planet,” she said. They glanced at each but ultimately nodded in agreement and followed her out. She stood right outside the door to address the king with a smile.

“We have decided to leave the punishment up to you and your council,” she said simply. She waited for the nod from the king before she led her soldiers out of the building, confident that the king wouldn’t let the discretion pass.

As they travelled up the lift, Allura became lost in thought. The past few days changed everything she thought about herself and the people around her. She was blind to the feelings of someone who was most precious to her. Her first friend, her best friend really.

She knew that she had to change, not just towards him but to others that she might have been unthinkingly blind to their thoughts and feelings. She didn’t know their circumstances or what drove their actions but it wasn’t her job to judge them anymore.

She was going to do right by Lance this time and grow as a person and help Voltron become the light that beings all over the galaxy reached for.

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit my tumblr at blueplanettrash!


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